The story Of KGB:
KGB was a short-lived American rock band, one of the late supergroups of the 1970s.
The name is made up of the initials of the three main players, Ray Kennedy (vocals), Barry Goldberg (keyboards) and Mike Bloomfield (guitar); Goldberg and Bloomfield had previously played together in The Electric Flag.
The rhythm section consisted of Ric Grech (bass, formerly of Family, Blind Faith and Traffic) and Carmine Appice (drums, formerly of Vanilla Fudge, Beck, Bogert & Appice).
The members of KGB (sometimes also spelt K.G.B.) received high-paying contracts from the record company MCA in 1975 toformation of a supergroup. The debut album with the title KGB (featuring the line-up of Appice, Grech, Goldberg, Bloomfield and Kennedy) was released in 1975, but flopped with both critics and buyersby both critics and buyers. The music magazine Sounds criticised the group’s lack of a musical community of interest. In 1976, the second album Motion was released with Appice, Goldberg, Kennedy, Ben Schultz and Gregg Sutton.
Mike Bloomfield refused to travel to Los Angeles, where the recordings took place; his contribution was recorded and mixed in Sausalito. and mixed in. In an interview, he made disparaging remarks disparagingly about the project, which came to a premature end after 18 months. premature end after 18 months. (wikipedia)
Barry Goldberg had a manager friend who wanted to assemble yet another super group. The manager had bassist Rick Grech, formerly of Blind Faith, and drummer Carmine Appice, formerly of the Vanilla Fudge, interested in the project, and he was eager to shop the concept around to record companies. “We’ll clean up!” was the manager’s selling point to Michael.
By the early summer, a deal had been worked out with MCA for the group – curiously named KGB, after the Russian secret police – to record an album. MCA’s interest, as far as Michael was concerned, was solely in the “bankability” of the band; the music was irrelevant to the label’s corporate managers. To them KGB was a product, like soap or breakfast cereal.
Bloomfield and the other members of KGB got along well and actually liked each other, but the artifice behind their collaboration was too thin to withstand all the pressures from the front office. After studio sessions in Los Angeles in June, and overdubbing dates later in Sausalito, Michael was thoroughly disgusted with the superficiality of the whole business.
He was enough disgruntled that, following the release of the band’s eponymous album in February 1976, he gave a tell-all interview to the Los Angeles Times in which he took the band and record company to task. Michael opined KGB before the break-up: from left, Carmine Appice, Ric Grech, Barry Goldberg, Michael Bloomfield and Ray Kennedy. MCA promotional photothat KGB had everything to do with business and nothing to do with art. He followed that impolitic move with a two-page letter to MCA that was part harangue, part resignation. Everyone involved was furious with him, and by April KGB was effectively dead in the water.
The whole affair left Michael with an overwhelming desire to do something with integrity. (mikebloomfieldamericanmusic.com)
Didn’t exept this , white funk /disco (Toco 2009)
In the 70s I was very disappointed by this album … today it doesn’t sound so bad (” Lookin’ For A Better Way ” with a fine slide-guitar or “Lay It All Down” a great Gospel song) … Of course my listening habits have changed
A second listen give’s it more credence than it did back in the day.
Personnel:
Carmine Appice (drums, percussion, background vocals9
Barry Goldberg (keyboards, synthesizer)
Ray Kennedy (vocals)
Ben Schultz (guitar, banjo, magic bag
Gregg Sutton (bass, vocals on 06.)
Tracklist:
01. Woman, Stop Whatcha Doin’ (Appice)
02. I Only Need A Next Time (Goldberg/Sawyer)
03. My Serene Coleen (Kennedy)
04. Lookin’ For A Better Way (Conrd/Kennedy)
05. Lay It All Down (Jennings/Goldberg)
06. Treading Water (Sutton/Schultz/Appice)
07. Goin’ Thru The Motions (Bayer Sager/Goldberg)
08. Je T’Aime (Kennedy)
09. Determination (Sutton)
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